Speak Up! Public speaking techniques for promoting your business

When you're starting out in business, the most effective andleast expensive way to market yourself is by word ofmouth--your mouth.

"Even if you can't afford to do any marketing,"says Pamela Truax, co-author of Market Smarter, Not Harder(Kendall/Hunt Publishing, $29.95, 800-228-0810), "you canpromote your business by getting out and talking topeople."

For Truax, the most important speaking opportunity is the"elevator speech"--what you say at mixers and networkingopportunities when people ask what you do. Like any good speech, itrequires preparation.